Russian bear claw pickles are a traditional pickling recipe made with gigantic overripe cucumbers cut into claw shapes. They’re pickled in sweet, warm spices, perfect for enjoying during long northern winters.
I came across Russian Bear Claw Pickles when searching for recipes to use a bumper crop of gigantic, overripe cucumbers from my garden. Normally, I’m out there picking every single day to keep the crop small and manageable for dill pickle spears or even tiny miniature French Cornichons.
This year, though, enough of those big bubbas managed to hide that I found myself with an overstock of gigantic cucumbers, and I dug deep, looking for traditional recipes.
So far, I’ve made:
- Cucumber “Tongue” Pickles
- Danish Asier Pickles
- German Senfgurken
- Dutch Pickles
- Sunshine Pickles
- Ruth’s Pickles
All of these recipes will be posted shortly, but I’m extra excited about Russian Bear Claw Pickles.
Why?
Because they basically take another delicious old-fashioned treat, sweet pickled watermelon rind, and use a very similar recipe to pickle gigantic ripe cucumbers. The same technique works for more than just watermelon rind!
And, because of the natural curved shape you get when you peel and seed cucumbers, these pickles get a great name too. Big bear claw pickles are perfect for spicing up your winter larder.
Overripe Cucumber Pickles, left to right starting at top left: Tongue Pickles, Senfgurken with pickling spice, sunshine pickles, senfgurken plain, bear claw pickles and Ruth’s pickles.
Ingredients for Russian Bear Claw Pickles
To make 2 to 3 pints of Russian Bear Claw Pickles, you’ll need:
- 5 pounds large ripe cucumbers (about 4)
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
For the Pickling Brine
- 4 cups Cider Vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or 2 cinnamon sticks)
- 1 tsp whole cloves
Normally, this quantity of cucumbers would yield around 4 pints of pickles, but these pack much better into jars after the long simmer in sweet brine. The yield will depend on how you pack the jars, but be sure there’s plenty of brine in with the pickles.
How to Make Bear Claw Pickles
Start by peeling and seeding the cucumbers. To seed, cut the peeled cucumbers in half lengthwise, and then scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
To get the bear claw shape, cut each seeded cucumber “boat” crossways, into two pieces. Next, cut each end of the cucumber into 4 pieces. First in half, then in half again.
You should now have pointy claw-shaped cucumber pieces.
Next, sprinkle the salt over the cucumber pieces and add enough water to just cover them in a bowl or stock pot.
Allow the pieces to soak in the salt water for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
After soaking, pour the cucumbers and brine into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
Next, drain and rinse the cucumbers. This is important, as they’ll be too salty if not drained and rinsed at this point. The pre-cook in the salt water is also important, as it conditions the cucumbers to accept the sweet brine. Don’t skip it.
Place the remaining pickling brine ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Add the drained and rinsed cucumber pieces.
Gently boil the mixture over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cucumber pieces look transparent.
Ladle the bear claw pickles into canning jars, with plenty of brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for pints or 15 minutes for quarts (adjusting for altitude).
Cucumber Pickle Canning Altitude Adjustments
Water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes, so jars need to be processed a bit longer as you go up in elevation. Here are the altitude adjustments for canning Russian Bear’s Claw Pickles:
- For 0 to 1,000 Feet in Elevation – Process pint jars for 10 minutes, and quart jars for 15 minutes.
- For 1,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation – Process pint jars for 15 minutes, and quart jars for 20 minutes.
- Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation – Process pint jars for 20 minutes, and quart jars for 25 minutes.
Russian Bear Claw Pickles
Russian bear claw pickles are a traditional pickling recipe made with gigantic overripe cucumbers cut into claw shapes. They're pickled in sweet, warm spices, perfect for enjoying during long northern winters.
Ingredients
For the Pre-Soak:
- 5 pounds large ripe cucumbers (about 4)
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
For the Pickling Brine
- 4 cups Cider Vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or 2 cinnamon sticks)
- 1 tsp whole cloves
Instructions
- Peel the cucumbers, then seed them by cutting the peeled cucumbers in half lengthwise, and then scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
- To get the bear claw shape, cut each seeded cucumber "boat" crossways, into two pieces. Next, cut each end of the cucumber into 4 pieces. First in half, then in half again. You should now have pointy claw-shaped cucumber pieces.
- Sprinkle the salt over the cucumber pieces and add enough water to just cover them in a bowl or stock pot. Allow the pieces to soak in the salt water for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
- After soaking, pour the cucumbers and brine into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
- Next, drain and rinse the cucumbers. This is important, as they'll be too salty if not drained and rinsed at this point. The pre-cook in the salt water is also important, as it conditions the cucumbers to accept the sweet brine. Don't skip it.
- Place the remaining pickling brine ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Add the drained and rinsed cucumber pieces.
- Gently boil the mixture over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cucumber pieces look transparent.
- Ladle the bear claw pickles into canning jars, with plenty of brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for pints, or 15 minutes for quarts (adjusting for altitude).
Notes
Water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes, so jars need to be processed a bit longer as you go up in elevation. Here are the altitude adjustments for canning Russian Bear's Claw Pickles:
- For 0 to 1,000 Feet in Elevation - Process pint jars for 10 minutes, and quart jars for 15 minutes.
- For 1,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation - Process pint jars for 15 minutes, and quart jars for 20 minutes.
- Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation - Process pint jars for 20 minutes, and quart jars for 25 minutes.
Cucumber Pickling Recipes
Looking for more ways to make a tasty pickle?
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